Warhammer Wednesday: The New Chaos Defiler

I may be slightly late to the party on this one*, but I become aware that Games Workshop have released a new Defiler deamon engine for Warhammer 40,000.

Seeing this reminded me that there is a scene in my Warhammer 40K novel Iron Hands where Iron Father Gdolkin goes up against a Chaos Defiler. Iron Hands is available to buy as an eBook from Black Library, and here's an extract to give you a taster...

The wall at an angled junction ahead of them had collapsed into the defile, creating a slope of spoil and earth leading up out of the labyrinthine network of trenches. Then the Iron-Father saw a shape looming up over the crest of the trench, between the Iron Hands and the ordinatus, that made their struggle so far seem like nothing more than a combat training session.

The monstrosity rose up before Iron-Father Gdolkin and his battlebrethren like some obscene amalgam of machine and unholy warp entity, a crab-like creature in form, all pistoning claw-limbs, studded with snagging barbs and cruel spikes. Mounted upon this clanking undercarriage was a baroquely forged gun-turret tank-body in which was contained the malevolent entity whose presence leaked from the rusted war engine like acid, tainting the very air around it with vileness. The main gargoylemouthed cannon of the monstrous construct was ably supported by the reaping gun of an autocannon of archaic design. A robotic arm flexed and stretched like living steel, culminating in a mass of mechadendrite tentacles, writhing with an unnatural life of their own.

Above the thorax portion of this oil- and slime-dripping creation of Chaos, a daemonic visage, formed of rust-discoloured steel, stared down on the Space Marines, as if they were nothing more than insects, baleful witchfires burning behind its eye-slits. A ragged plague standard fluttered in the steady wind blowing over the battlefield above the trench line bearing the unmistakable insignia of the Plague God and the name of the blasphemy: Ebolus. It stung Gdolkin's remaining biological eye to look upon it and he could see glyphs of the Lord of Decay forming in the rusty scars covering the metal of the machine. Each joint was emblazoned with the eight-pointed star of the Fell Powers.

Gdolkin shivered involuntarily. The whole horrific fusion of machine and Chaos-spawned daemon drew a toxic miasma of noxious fumes with it, more polluting than the industry-ruined atmosphere of Fornax Orbis Majoris. It clung to the construct like a second skin, and made the air feel greasy. Sooty exhaust turrets coughed yet more foulness into the air from the impossible engine, pounding its pistons inside the machine beast like the beating of some daemonic metal heart.

'Ferrus be with me.' Gdolkin muttered, feeling the power source of his axe thrumming in his right hand... 

To continue reading the story, click here to buy Iron Hands from the Black Library today.

* As in about six weeks late!

You Are The Hero Bundle of Holding Quick Deal Offer

Live now is the YOU ARE THE HERO Bundle of Holding.

For a limited time, this YOU ARE THE HERO Quick Deal presents the 40th anniversary edition of YOU ARE THE HERO plus seven interactive ACE Gamebooks, and the Heorot RPG.

Part history, part celebration, YOU ARE THE HERO chronicles four decades of the Fighting Fantasy phenomenon, written by Yours Truly (author of eight Fighting Fantasy gamebooks), this revised, updated, and lavishly illustrated tome will appeal to anyone who ever whiled away a washed-out summer holiday with only two dice and a pencil for company.

The YOU ARE THE HERO Quick Deal is live until 11:00pm PST on Tuesday 4th March 2025.

The Darkness Over Arkham released in the US and as a global ebook today

The Darkness Over Arkham, the first Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook is published today by Aconyte Books, as a paperback in the US and as a global eBook*.

When a renowned professor is found dead, it’s up to the Investigators of Arkham to discover what occult horrors were behind his fate. Pick your path, Investigator, and collect allies along the way to hunt down his killer before they strike again. However, Arkham is full of mysteries, with many wishing to keep the truth buried, and who are hungry to usher in a new era full of death and darkness to devour the world you know it. Can you stop them before it is too late?

The book includes profiles for three Investigators - Agnes Baker the Waitress, Nathaniel Cho the Boxer, and Rex Murphy the Reporter - which can be downloaded here, so you don't need to write in the book itself.

You can order your copy of The Darkness Over Arkham here. And don't forget I will be livestreaming the opening of the adventure with Jordan Sorcery on his YouTube channel tomorrow, 8 May 2024.

* The UK paperback arrives 18 July 2024.

Warhammer Wednesday: Sticks and Stones

I haven't done one of these for a while - a Warhammer Wednesday post.

However, with the news that the Orc & Goblin Tribes Arcane Journal is soon to be released for Warhammer: The Old World, it seemed as good a time as any to remind you* that my Empire vs. Orcs short story Sticks and Stones is available to download as an eBook from the Black Library.

War against orcs and goblins is never easy for the soldiers of the Empire. Their foes and savage and brutal and revel in battle. and never more so than when a mighty idol of their gods marches to war alongside them, fuelled by magic and the power of the Waaagh! In the midst of battle, it falls to Rutger Erlang and his pistolier comrades to deal with the manifestation of Gork (or is it Mork?) and prevent the total destruction of the Empire army.

The Bretonnian Grail Reliquae was recently featured on the Warhammer: The Old World home page. I also wrote a story about one of these back in the day, entitled Sir Dagobert's Last Battle, which can be found in Issue #9 of Hammer and Bolter .

 * Or let you know, if you're new to this blog.

Warhammer Wednesday: Warhammer eBooks

Monday saw the release of Krakenbane's Curse, a new Age of Sigmar short story by Yours Truly. 

A few of the short stories I have written for Black Library over the years are available as digital eShorts and three of the six novels I have written set within the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 universes as eBooks. Why not check out one of them today?

 

Krakenbane's Curse - A Warhammer Age of Sigmar story

Today sees the launch of the Warhammer Age of Sigmar eShorts Subscription, which includes my first, and probably only, Age of Sigmar short story. Not only that, but from today you can buy Krakenbane's Curse as a standalone story.

"The forces of Death and Order clash on the high seas of the Mortal Realms."

I wouldn't read the story synopsis on the Black Library website if I were you, as it gives away one of the major twists of the story.

My last Black Library short story was published three years ago, almost to the day, and that was the Necromunda-set Paradise. The reason why it has taken so long for another tale to appear is a story in and of itself.

Ten months bfore Paradise was published, my Warhammer 40,000 short story Journey of the Magi appeared, and that was my first new Black Library story for six years. However, because of the leadtime for Black Library publications, I actually started pitching stories for Warhammer Age of Sigmar towards the end of 2019, and from a list of three, one was selected to go forward to full submission.

To give you an idea of how stories can change, the title went from Gloomtide to Scourgetide, to Black Tide, until finally settling on Krakenbane's Curse, with the outline of the story changing slightly every time as well. 

The story was commissioned in March 2020, just as Covid-19 hit. In no time at all, the UK was in lockdown and the vast majority of businesses went into a form of stasis, including Games Workshop. I submitted the first draft of Krakenbane's Curse at the end of April 2020. And then I waited.

As a direct consequence of the Covid-19 lockdown, priorities changed at GW and Black Library, and I didn't receive feedback on my story until the start of September 2021. It went through three sets of revisions and was finally passed as finished at the start of December 2021. At the time I was told my story would appear in a forthcoming Age of Sigmar anthology. And then I waited.

And here we are today, at the start of October 2023, with Krakenbane's Curse being the first title to be released as part of the Warhammer Age of Sigmar eShorts Subscription, which will be available until 8:00am BST on Monday 16th October 2023 (although the individual eShorts will remain available for individual purchase after that).

I'm please to see that one of the other releases this week is by me old mucker C L Werner, and has the intriguing title of The Abominations of Kriik Weirdpaw.

Warhammer Wednesday: Journey of the Magi

Now that Christmas is over and we are approaching Twelfth Night, it seemed like the perfect time to plug my Warhammer 40,000 short story Journey of the Magi, in which three wise men follow a star...

On an artificial world far from the light of any sun, three sorcerers of the Thousand Sons emerge from a portal. Together, this trio will face ancient horrors – but the prize that awaits them is worth any danger. Long have these three sought the Godstar, piecing together its location from scattered scraps of knowledge. The immortal guardians of the place sleep, but it is not undefended, and the children of Prospero will pay a heavy price for that which they seek as they delve deep into the ancient mysteries of the necrons. 

You can buy Journey of the Magi here, and you can read more about the story here.

Warhammer Wednesday: The Dead and the Damned is 20 years old!

Unbelievably, my very first published novel, the Warhammer short story collection The Dead and the Damned, is 20 years old today! What's more, it is still available to buy from the Black Library as an eBook.

The Warhammer universe explodes with adventure and sudden violence as Badenov's Band, rogues and brigands all, take on all comers as they roam the Old World. Led by their raven-haired commander Torben Badenov, whose lust for glory is only surpassed by his ferocity in battle, the motley gang roams the wretched towns and haunted forests fighting until every last unholy creature they encounter joins the dead or the damned.

One of the best things* about The Dead and the Damned being published, apart from the fact that it was a proper novel**, was that Clint Langley produced the cover. Since 2002, I have written another 15 novels, many of which are also still available to buy as eBooks.

* One of the worst things was it was the first book of mine that was reviewed in SFX Magazine, and the reviewer gave it one star. That was a humbling experience.

** Although it wasn't. Not really.

Warhammer Wednesday: The Emperor's Champion

This Saturday, 8th October 2022, is Warhammer Day, and is focused on celebrating 35 years of the tabletop miniatures game Warhammer 40,000.

To mark this occasion, Games Workshop is releasing a new Emperor's Champion miniature/diorama. Although it's entitled Bayard’s Revenge, the model of an Emperor’s Champion triumphing over a mighty Ork Nob, reminded by of my Warhammer 40K novel Crusade for Armageddon, which just happens to features an Emperor's Champion of the Black Templars Chapter triumphing over multiple Ork Nobs.

Although Crusade for Armageddon is no longer in print, and not available as an eBook either, my popular short story The Relic, that features many of the same characters from that particular novel, is available in both Legends of the Space Marines and War for Armageddon: The Omnibus.

Warhammer Wednesday: Tales from the Grim Darkness of the Far Future

Last week I alerted you to the old Warhammer short stories of mine that are still available to download as eBooks from the Black Library. This week it's the turn of my ever-popular Warhammer 40K tales.

All of the stories feature Space Marines of one kind or another. But Dust in the Wind has Imperial Fists facing off against Necrons, The Relic features Black Templars battling Orks, and Journey of the Magi sees Thousand Sons* versus more Necrons**.

So, if you haven't tried one of my Warhammer 40,000 stories before, why not check out one of these today?

* Yes, I know they're technically Chaos Space Marines.

** I just can't get enough of those undead robots!

Warhammer Wednesday: Tales from The-World-That-Was

My latest royalty statement arrived from Black Library last week*. What it highlighted to me is that a number of my old Warhammer stories - from what would now be referred to as 'The-World-That-Was' - are still available in eBook format, either alone or as part of larger collections.

If you would like a taste of my old school Warhammer writings, why not check out one of them today?

Hammer and Bolter Issue 9 contains my short story Sir Dagobert's Last Battle, which is one of the best Warhammer stories I think I ever wrote. Sticks and Stones appeared near the end of Warhammer's life, before it evolved into Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.

* Yes, I still earn a few pennies from sales of my BL stuff.

Warhammer Wednesday: Inferno! Warhammer 40,000 Collection

The tech-adepts at Black Library have released a new eBundle of Warhammer 40,000 short stories, that first appeared in the pages of Inferno! 

Included in the collection is my not-at-all-festive-honest Journey of the Magi.

Three sorcerers converge on an ancient necron structure in the hopes of retrieving something of great value to all three of them. But they will find that though dormant, the necrons do not give up their treasures easily…

On an artificial world far from the light of any son, three sorcerers of the Thousand Sons emerge from a portal, Together, this trio will face ancient horrors – but the prize that awaits them is worth any danger, Long have these three sought the Godstar, piecing together its location from scattered scraps of knowledge. The immortal guardians of the place sleep, but it is not undefended, and the children of Prospero will pay a heavy price for that which they seek as they delve deep into the ancient mysteries of the necrons.

If you haven't read it already, why not download Inferno! A Warhammer 40,000 Collection today?

Steampunk Thursday: Anno Frankenstein

Ten years ago*, Abaddon Books published by seventh Ulysses Quicksilver adventure, Anno Frankenstein. Here's the blurb taken from Amazon:

Ulysses Quicksilver, agent of the crown, jumps into a time vortex pursuing Daniel Dashwood, a madman bent on sharing modern technology with Hitler’s forces and changing history to suit his evil ends.

Rewind several decades, to the time of the Second Great War, to Darmstadt. The Nazis are battling the steampunk empire of Magna Britannia, cooking up necrotic super-soldiers in the gothic towers of Castle Frankenstein.

In the forests outside the castle, other forces are gathering. Ulysses’ father is there, proving that dashing good looks and a talent for swashbuckling adventures run in the family, and wondering why his British masters have partnered him with weakling scientist Dr. Jekyll. The ladies of the Monstrous Regiment are also there to help, but there may be other gothic monsters in the hills... 

“Jonathan Green gets mileage out of his monsters, with big action set-pieces that read like things we’d like to see in a rip-roaring summer movie.” - SFX Magazine

I had a lot of fun, riffing off the works of Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Stan Lee et al, and I think that comes through in the novel, which is the longest** Ulysses Quicksilver adventure in terms of page count.

If you've yet to read it yourself, the good news is that Anno Frankenstein is is in Rebellion Publishing's January ‘Time Travel’ eBook sale. The eBook is available worldwide, until the end of the month, for only 99p! However, please not that this discounted price is only valid on the Rebellion Publishing webshop.

So what are you waiting for? Why not download it today?

* Yes, you read that right. Ten. Years.

** If I'm remembering that rightly. If not, it's probably Human Nature.

Gamebook Friday: Alice's Nightmare in Japan

Today, the Japanese edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is released. If you are interested, you can find it here.

As far as I know*, this is the first book of mine that has appeared in Japanese. As a result I needed a little help understanding what was what on the cover, so my Japanese publisher kindly sent me this:

* You never can tell with some licensed work for hire stuff. For example, the first time I discovered Crisis on Coruscant, my Star Wars Clone Wars gamebook, had been published in German was when I was looking round a bookshop in Vienna, Austria.